India takes note as China-Bhutan sign pact on boundary negotiations
New Delhi, Oct 14: Bhutan on Thursday announced that it firmed up a "three-step roadmap" for expediting the negotiations with China to resolve the long-pending boundary dispute between the two countries, a development that India said it has taken note of.
The signing of the pact came four years after the Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a 73-day stand-off at the Doklam tri-junction after China tried to extend a road in the area. "We have noted the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Bhutan and China today. You are aware that Bhutan and China have been holding boundary negotiations since 1984. India has similarly been holding boundary negotiations with China," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said.
He
was
replying
to
a
question
on
the
agreement.
In
a
statement,
Bhutan
said
its
Foreign
Minister
Lyonpo
Tandi
Dorji
and
China's
Assistant
Foreign
Minister
Wu
Jianghao
signed
the
MoU
on
the
"three-step
roadmap"
for
expediting
the
Bhutan-China
Boundary
negotiations.
"The
MoU
on
the
three-step
roadmap
will
provide
a
fresh
impetus
to
the
boundary
talks,"
the
Bhutanese
foreign
ministry
said.
It
is
expected
that
the
implementation
of
this
roadmap
in
a
spirit
of
goodwill,
understanding
and
accommodation
will
bring
the
boundary
negotiations
to
a
successful
conclusion
that
is
acceptable
to
both
sides,"
it
said.
The India-China stand-off in the Doklam plateau in 2017 even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Bhutan said the area belonged to it and India supported the Bhutanese claim. India had strongly opposed the construction of the road at the Doklam tri-junction as it would have impacted its overall security interests.
The India-China face-off was resolved following several rounds of talks. Bhutan shares an over 400-km-long border with China and the two countries have held over 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the dispute. "During the 10th Expert Group Meeting in Kunming in April this year, the two sides agreed on a three-step roadmap that will build on the 1988 Guiding Principles and help to expedite the ongoing boundary negotiations," the Bhutanese statement said.
Bagchi did not reply to a question on whether the Bhutanese government kept India informed about the MoU with China. The signing of the pact came amid a continuing standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in several friction points in eastern Ladakh. PTI